Paving the way for Bonapartists

Paving the way for Bonapartists

By: Shamim-ur-Rahman

With more than a 100 people killed in the city during the past week, and government’s failure to firmly deal with the menace of terrorism in Pakistan’s economic hub, the city is rapidly being sucked into a quagmire of annihilation.

Target killings, gang wars over land grabbing and extortion money, and extending the fiefdom for greater share in the booty and political power, has injected a new wave of anarchy and extremism in this port city that was once the city of lights and safe heaven for forward looking liberals. It has become home for extremist groups backed by criminal mafias and certain political elements.

According to one estimate Rs 3 billion is the daily loss of revenue to the government from industries during a day of strike. This was besides the loss incurred by traders, transporters, and daily wage earners. A conservative estimate is that revenue loss during the past 12 strike calls since March 3, 2011 was more than 60 billion rupees that had a crippling effect on the national economy. This also reflects hollowness of the claims of political parties about their concern for the wellbeing and progress of Pakistan’s economic hub. MQM, PPP, ANP, and nationalists and religious political parties all had their role in crippling the economy.

Instead of improving the security environment their strike has further aggravated the situation due to the scale and consistency of killings in the city.Their conflict has also resulted in unaccounted for loss of man hours in the industry and other workplace. It has also resulted in loss of studies in the educational institutions and has caused sever strain on the students and their parents. While political parties continue to fight their turf war and the government has failed to address bread and butter issues and providing employment, religious extremists, including elements belonging to Taliban have also entrenched themselves in the metropolis, making the battle for controlling Karachi even deadlier.

But the current wave of killing was not their handiwork. Credit goes to those who claimed themselves to be liberals, secular and democratic. They once again injected ethnicity in the conflict to agitate public sentiments in their favour for maintaining their hold. Most of the time, according to reports, those involved in target killings are party activists, but after each round of blood letting the blame is shifted on the ‘land mafia’ “drug mafia” or “bhatta mafia” and other criminal elements.

There is little attempt at introspection and weeding out violent elements from within their own rank and file. There were reports that after the arrest of some important operatives the fighting became more intense to pressure government to release them. None of the political parties accept it, but credible intelligence reports suggest that all the major political parties the city were heavily armed and trained in the use of firearms. Since political parties are not prepared to drop criminal elements and those who provide the muscle and fire power from the band wagon, situation has become graver.

Perhaps the habit of extravagant living and the need of more funds to run party affairs compel them to do so. Ironically this has significantly injected drug money in the activities of political parties and extremists elements operating in the city. Stakes are so high that if the situation is allowed to continue like this, the city will become the real battlefield like Beirut because there is so much of arms and ammunition in possession of the combatants.

The MQM’s fall back on ethnic sentiments to protect its moorings in the current crisis and its conflict with the ANP amid scaremongering against a possible Taliban take over, has complicated the situation and has also increased the covert involvement of external elements in this port city. There is a perception that the current blood bath was some how related to the issue of differences between MQM, ANP and the PPP over local bodies issue. MQM is not prepared to accept anybody’s “encroachment” in its fiefdom and hence its clash with ANP and PPP.

City District government of Karachi was considered as the bastion of MQM’s power. It used its control of the CDGK to extend its influence. ANP is now claiming to be the custodian of the interests of Pashtuns who have settled in Karachi and demanding more representation on the ground. Similar demands are also being made by the PPP which is the leading political party of the province and the country. Thus, the present precarious law-and-order situation in Karachi is the off shoot of their competing politics of control over city.

The indecisiveness and incompetence of the government to deal firmly with the terrorists could be politically catastrophic, and we may be plunged into a situation that may be even more dangerous than the early 1990s. The recent bloodbath and the growing trust deficit between the politicalparties in Sindh are bad omen. It is pushing the dispensation to the edge amid fear of anarchy and centrifugal forces gaining upper hand.

Already Karachi situation is being used to justify replacement of the current civilian dispensation with Establishment-backed judiciary-led caretaker arrangement. Efforts are on to muster political support for such an arrangement. But events in Karachi cannot be controlled like that. It has to be through a genuine consensus among the political stake holders. Otherwise the city of lights may be turned into a city of warlords with horrifying consequences for the country. ENDS .